The 53-year-old, who famously defeated Judd Trump at the Crucible Theatre during the 2017 World Championship, made a big step towards a return to the iconic venue by lifting the title last weekend in Berkshire.
The Race to the Crucible series sees nine events held across the season with the top two ranked players at the conclusion of the final event earning places at the World Seniors Snooker Championship, while those who finish between third and tenth will qualify for the ‘Top 16 Shootout’ – where a further place in Sheffield will be on offer.
Seven nations were represented at the second event of the series with a total of 54 cueists embarking on the Reading venue.
McLeod made a stunning start to the weekend with back-to-back whitewash victories in his opening two matches, during which he also compiled the tournament high break of 137.
In the last 16, the cueist representing Jamaica looked to be facing a certain exit as he fell 3-0 behind to Wayne Townsend in a best-of-seven frame contest. However, McLeod held his nerve to win four consecutive frames before overcoming both Lee Martin and Gary Filtness by a 4-2 scoreline to book his place in the final.
His opponent in the final was Welsh former professional Williams, who is bidding to qualify for the final stages of the World Seniors Championship for a fourth time.
McLeod looked to be too strong in the title match as a break of 119, his second century of the event, helped him to move one frame away from victory at 3-0.
Despite a brief rally from Williams to reduce the deficit to two, it was too little too late as McLeod was able to take the fifth frame by a scoreline of 71-55 to secure the title.
Graham Beardmore defeated Joy Mehra 2-1 in the final of the second Super Seniors event of the season.
The event is open to all cueists over the age of 55 and was held on Sunday alongside the main Race to the Crucible series event.
A total of 19 competitors took part in the tournament, including event one winner John Hunter and former World Seniors Darts Championship runner-up Richie Howson – who eventual champion Beardmore defeated 2-1 in the opening round.
A trio of 2-0 victories against Kevin Willsher, Dennis Tristram and Hunter then set up a final meeting with India’s Mehra.
Mehra took the opening frame of the final to move one away from victory, but Beardmore hit back to force a decider before securing the title with a dominant 76-1 victory in the concluding frame of the contest.
Igor Figueiredo, the reigning World Seniors Champion showed his class again yesterday as he won “the Hull 900” event. The events was shown on Channel 5, and there was a very good and enthusiastic crowd in the arena in Hull. An estimate 650 fans attended the event.
Congratulations Igor!
Before the event proper, a lunch with the fans was organised.
The trophy is truly magnificent …
The channel 5 coverage was very good. Dennis Taylor was in the commentary box.
Reigning World Seniors Snooker Champion Igor Figueiredo dramatically added another title to his collection as he compiled a counter-attacking clearance of 48 in the deciding frame to defeat Jimmy White 2-1 on the final black and win the latest Mr. Vegas 900 Series event.
Former professional player Figueiredo travelled from his home in Brazil to compete in the six-player, World Seniors Snooker Tour one-day spectacular at the Connexin Live arena in Hull which was played to unique 900 rules.
The 46-year-old’s day didn’t get off to a great start, though, as he lost the opening match of the tournament to Ken Doherty, who made a 67 break in what was a repeat of the World Seniors Snooker Championship final at the Crucible Theatre from a few months ago.
Doherty – who defied fatigue and jetlag having been in a different continent the day before when commentating on the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters in Riyadh – then defeated Barry Pinches to qualify from and finish top of Group A.
That result meant the final fixture of the group was a straight shootout to see who took the other qualifying spot, and it was Figueiredo who comfortably dispatched Pinches to progress into the semi-final knockouts.
In Group B, Malta’s Tony Drago got the better of both Jimmy White (with a 57 break) and Stephen Hendry to win the pool. To determine the other qualifier, it was a repeat of the final of the first World Seniors 900 event in Epsom late last year, but the result was reversed as White defeated and eliminated Hendry from the tournament.
In the semi-finals – which were also single-frame fixtures – both group runner-ups advanced to the best-of-three title match as White ended Doherty’s campaign and Figueiredo denied Drago. White’s clash with Doherty was a rerun of the preceding 900 event that the latter triumphed in on home soil at the iconic Goffs arena in Ireland in March.
Four-time World Seniors Snooker Champion Jimmy White – the most successful player in seniors snooker history – was hoping ‘third time’s a charm’ and that he could secure a maiden 900 title. He was on course to do so as he crafted a crucial 69 break which assisted him to go 1-0 up, although a contribution of 63 in frame two was vital in aiding Figueiredo to level the contest at 1-1 and force a deciding frame.
There was a scrappy start to the final frame, but 62-year-old White managed to find a fruitful opening with a break of 40. However, he misplaced position – when just a few more pots away from the finish line – and was unable to continue the break, allowing his opponent back to the table. Figueiredo would go on to pot a red from distance and coolly construct a frame, match and event-winning clearance.
It is the second snooker final in as many days to be decided on the final black ball in a deciding frame thriller with a counter-attack following Judd Trump’s heroics in Saudi on Saturday night.
The two referees on duty, Mark Beale and Tatiana Woollaston did a sterling job… as alway.
The whole event was played in great spirit and the players enjoyed themselves, as did the attending fans.
And here are some more images, taken by Andy Chubb, and shared by WSS on social media
South Africa’s Charl Jonck defeated fellow countryman Mutalieb Allie 4-2 in the final of the 2024 African Seniors Championship in Johannesburg.
Jonck was in stunning form during the event, dropping just three frames and compiling the high break of 128 as he earned the title and a place at the Crucible Theatre for next May’s World Seniors Championship.
Organised by the African Billiards & Snooker Confederation (ABSC), the African Seniors Championship is staged as part of the All-African Snooker Championships with the winner of the main singles competition receiving a two-year World Snooker Tour (WST) tour card.
A total of 28 cueists from four nations competed in the Seniors event with an initial group stage narrowing the field down to a final 16 in the knockout phase.
Eventual champion Jonck was in fine form throughout the competition and dominated his group with a clean sweep of 3-0 victories and a stunning tournament high break of 128.
A break of 72 helped Jonck to defeat Latchman Moodley 3-0 in the first knockout round before a further whitewash victory over Mervyn Donnely secured his place in the last four.
Morocco’s Naitali Mourad became the first player to take a frame off the dominant Jonck, but the South African once again proved too strong as he ran out a 4-1 winner to set up a final with fellow countryman Allie.
Allie, who had dropped just a single frame en route to the title match, gave Jonck his toughest test in a high quality affair which saw the two players split four half-century breaks between them.
However, a top break of 92 saw Jonck secure the African Seniors Championship crown and an invitation to compete in the World Seniors Championship as he ran out a 4-2 winner.
This was announced yesterday by Jason Francis on social media and is now reported on the WSS official site:
World Seniors Snooker Championship Shootout Qualifying Event Unveiled
World Seniors Snooker (WSS) is delighted to announce that an additional qualification place will be made available to tour players at the 2025 World Seniors Snooker Championship following a change in the qualifying criteria
The top two players on the official World Seniors Snooker ranking list, as well as the top two on the ‘Race to the Crucible’ one-year list will earn their places in the Crucible Theatre, as previously announced, and they will now be joined by the winner of a newly announced ‘Top 16 Shootout’ event.
The 16 players qualifying for this new event will be those ranked between 3rd and 10th on both lists with the official ranking list taking precedence at all times.
Jason Francis, Chairman of WSS, said: “We want to be a tour that listens to its members. We have listened and we have reacted and it now the fight is not just for the top two spots on each ranking list, but also for the top ten.”
A full list of dates and venues can be found below:
2024
9-11 August (Reading)
27-29 September (Reading)
11-13 October (Reading)
22-24 November (Reading)
13-15 December (Reading)
2025
17-19 January (Newbury)
7-9 February (Reading)
7-9 March (Reading)
4-6 April (Reading)
Amateur players must be 40 on or before the first days play in each event, while professionals ranked outside the top 64 at the start of the 2024/25 season must be over 45 on or before the first days play.
Entries for all events are now open at WPBSA SnookerScores and will close seven days prior to each event.
There is no doubt that Jason is investing himself 100% to further develop the Seniors Snooker Tour, a tour that badly suffered from the covid crisis and its aftermath. In the early years the tour relied a lot on the past legends of the sport. Those players have earned the privilege and are still attracting a lot of fans. But it’s not viable as a long term strategy of course and – to make it worse – some of the oldest players on the main tour stubbornly continue to play very wel, sit at the top of the rankings and refuse to retire. The rascals! 😡😉
Jimmy White, Stephen Hendry and Ken Doherty will be among those in action when the Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 heads to the Connexin Live in Hull on Sunday 8 September.
The event, which will be broadcast live on Channel 5, will bring some of the most decorated names in the sport to the city for the third edition of the Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900, following victory for seven-time world champion Hendry in Epsom and an emotional success for Doherty on home soil at Goffs in March.
Reigning World Seniors champion Igor Figueiredo, ‘The Tornado’ Tony Drago and Barry Pinches also feature in the line-up at the former home of the UK Seniors Championship in East Yorkshire.
Jason Francis, Chairman of World Seniors Snooker said, “It is brilliant to return to Hull, a city that has welcomed World Seniors Snooker with open arms for many years. The field contains the four players who contested the semi-finals of the recent Mr Vegas World Seniors Championship at the iconic Crucible Theatre, as well as two icons of the game in Jimmy White and Stephen Hendry.”
Tickets start from just £10 and offer the opportunity to enjoy an afternoon of top class snooker played under the exciting ‘900’ format, with each frame only lasting a maximum of 15 minutes (900 seconds).
Former world champion Dennis Taylor will also be in Hull as part of the TV commentary team and will host a special ‘VIP Legends Lunch’ which will see snooker fans enjoy a champagne two course meal and a front row seat for the action.
WSS Chairman Jason Francis will go live later tonight to chat through todays news and also will answer any questions tour members or snooker followers wish to ask about any aspect of the Seniors. Feel free to leave your questions here today and he can answer them tonight at around 7pm live on this page.
Igor Figueiredo beat Ken Doherty by 5-2 to be crowned “2024 World Seniors Snooker Champion”.
Congratulations Igor!
Here are the frames score: 1-109(100); 77(72)-14; 89-26; 93(93)-0; 74-44; 33-110(50, 56); 117(88)-0
As you can see, it was Ken who got off to the better start, knoking in a century to lead 1-0. But Igor, who has played the better snooker and scored heavily all week, got over the early nerves and won the next three, with breaks of 72 and 93, to lead 3-1 at the MSI. When they return, Igor won a rather scrappy frame – the only of the match – to put himself just one off victory. Ken wasn’t going to lay down, of course, he took the next one – with two good breaks of 50 and 56 – to keep his hopes alive. But Igor wasn’t in the mood for a long afternoon. After a few safey exchanges, he got it… and a great 88 sealed it.
Here are the pictures I took today …
I’m very pleased for Igor whose career was hindered by financial issues. He didn’t have the money to play on the main tour and support his family, whilst staying in the UK. I guess that the cost of living in Brazil is significantly lower to what it is in the UK, and, remember, there was no 20000 pounds guaranteed back then. But he loves the game and played the best snooker all week. He’s a totally deserving champion!
This is the best World Seniors Snooker Championship I have attended so far. First of all, I want to thank Jason Francis for all the hard work he puts into the Seniors snooker circuit and for inviting me. Next – but not least – l want to thank the players. They gave it all and it made for a great five days of snooker. And finally, thank you as well to everyone at the Crucible this week: the players, the referees, the media people in the media room and on the floor as well as the personnel of the theatre. Everyone contributed to a great week and I always felt welcome.
Igor Figueiredo is the Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker Champion
Igor Figueiredo defeated Ken Doherty 5-2 to win the Mr Vegas World Seniors Championship for the first time.
The victory marks the greatest success of the 46-year-old’s career as he becomes the first player from outside of Europe to lift the prestigious World Seniors crown and secures the £20,000 winner’s cheque, the £2,000 high break prize and entry into the Champion of Champions.
For Doherty, the wait goes on to complete a unique ‘grand slam’ as the World Seniors title continues to elude the Irish former World Professional, World Amateur and World Under-21 champion.
Figueiredo qualified for the event as the Pan-American Seniors champion was unarguably a deserved champion, dropping just four frames as he defeated World Women’s Seniors champion Tessa Davidson, 4-time and defending champion Jimmy White and Tony Drago before overcoming 1997 World champion Doherty in the title match.
‘The Darling of Dublin’ had shown his grit and determination in making the final, coming from behind against both Tyson Crinis and Dechawat Poomjaeng before securing a 4-1 victory over Barry Pinches in the last four, and he made a dream start to the Sunday afternoon contest by firing in a break of exactly 100 to take an early lead.
The Brazilian, who wrapped up his semi-final match with back-to-back centuries, continued to show his break-building prowess as he compiled breaks of 72 and 93 to storm into a 3-1 lead at the mid-session interval.
The fifth frame saw a potential turning point when Figueiredo looking to be clearing up to take it but missed the green to allow Doherty a seemingly golden opportunity to reduce the deficit. However, the Irishman was unable to capitalise as he too jawed the green to leave his Brazilian opponent with the simplest of chances to move one away from victory.
Doherty briefly rallied in emphatic fashion with two half centuries in the sixth to make it 4-2, but it was too little too late as an emotional Figueiredo fired in an 88 clearance for glory before punching the air in front of a joyous Crucible crowd.
“I don’t have the words for this moment – I’m still sleeping or dreaming!” Figueiredo said after the victory.
“I think I played very well. I am very happy that people enjoyed it and for the people in Brazil. I have a lot of people behind me giving me support – thank you so much.
“I came in very confident but also nervous because it was a very important moment, not only for myself and my history but for the Americas – it is very important for current players and for the future generation.”
World Seniors Snooker would like to thank Channel 5, Mr Vegas Casino and everyone involved in making the 2024 World Seniors Snooker Championship a success.
Ken Doherty and Igor Figueiredo will meet in the final of the 2024 Mr Vegas World Seniors Championship final after both won their semi-finals by a 4-1 scoreline on Saturday afternoon at the Crucible Theatre.
Both players are aiming to lift the World Seniors title for the first time in their career and they will face off on Sunday afternoon in a best-of-nine frame title match.
Doherty is now one victory away from the completion of an historic ‘grand slam’ which would see him add the Seniors crown alongside the World Under-21, World Amateur and World Professional titles he won in 1989 and 1997 respectively.
Meanwhile, Figueiredo becomes the first ever cueist from outside of Europe to reach the final of the tournament and success against Doherty would represent the biggest victory of the 46-year-old’s career.
UNSTOPPABLE IGOR FIRES THROUGH
Figueiredo gave the finest performance of the tournament so far to wrap up a 4-1 victory over ‘The Tornado’ Tony Drago with back-to-back century breaks.
The high-scoring nature of the contest may have come as a surprise to those watching the opening frame which was a nervy affair and saw neither player able to build up any rhythm as the Brazilian took it on the final blue.
The break-building quickly arrived for both players as Drago levelled the game with a break of 69 before Figueiredo restored his advantaged with his first half-century of the afternoon.
A stunning break of 110 from Figueiredo, the first century break of this year’s tournament, moved the Brazilian one frame away from the final and he charged over the line in emphatic fashion by firing in a 119 to complete the victory with impressive back-to-back centuries.
After reaching Sunday’s final, Figueiredo said: “I am very happy – I played very well in the last two frames. Two century breaks is not bad for myself! I am very happy to get into the final.
The Brazilian credits his wife Camilla for his upturn in form and he said after the victory: “My wife is my heart, she inspires me a lot and gives me power and support. My life changed after my wife and I do everything for her.”
CRAFTY KEN INTO SECOND SENIORS FINAL
Doherty booked his place in a first Mr Vegas World Seniors Championship final since 2020 by defeating Barry Pinches 4-1 in the semi-final.
The Irishman offered his best performance of the event so far and will be aiming to quash the memories of his last World Seniors final, when he led Jimmy White 4-0 at the Crucible before succumbing to a 5-4 defeat.
There was clear tension early on in the contest with the first frame taking over half an hour before Doherty crucially took it on the final black.
The 1997 World champion ultimately needed three visits to take the second frame, but eventually got over the line, before an unexpected miss from an out-of-sorts Pinches allowed Doherty to move one away from victory at 3-0.
The Englishman briefly rallied to pull a frame back at 3-1, but it was too little too late as ‘The Darling of Dublin’ completed the victory in frame five to set up a Sunday afternoon final meeting with Figueiredo.
“I got off to a good start by winning that black ball game and I’m thrilled to bits to get through to the final” Doherty reflected post-match.
“It was a really tough match and I’m a bit jaded but just so excited about tomorrow and the final against Igor Figueiredo.
“I’m not going to count any chickens, I’m just going to go out and play my best and give it all I can. I definitely want to win this tournament, it’s one I want to tick off my list, but I have a very tough opponent in front of me.”
Tony Drago beat Stuart Watson by 3-1 and you will find the frames scores for that match here. Tony started very impressively: he won the first frame in no time and in one scoring visit with a break of 91. It proved to be the only big break of the match as the next three frames were extremely close and “fragmented”. I spoke briefly to Stuart after the match and he was absolutely devastated, maybe not as much about the outcome as he was about his performance. Stuart is currently the Seniors number one, he has never been a pro. He qualified for this event by winning a lot of matches on the Seniors tour. Stuart and other senior players like him deserve much better than the scorn the “other number one”, Mark Allen, showed for the event yesterday on twitter… It could be you here in a few years Mark, and delighted to be part of it as well. Time catches up with everyone.
Anyway… here are the images taken during that match:
Barry Pinches always looked in control of the last quarter-final . He beat James Wattana by 3-1. It’s not every day that you see a canary get the better of a typhoon … it can only happen only on a snooker table, an environment well known to create unexpected events and produce “strange things”. The scores for that match are here. Barry looks very, very sharp. He’s entered the Q-School so, as you would expect, he has put the hours in, and it shows,
Here are the images for that match:
And Michaela was trying to steal my job…
Seriously … she was taking pictures of a very proud Mark Beale. Mark has given a lot of his time to the amateur game, refereeing on the Women’s Tour, on the Seniors’ Tour, and countless hours in the “900” events. Yesterday he refereed at the Crucible… a totally deserved recognition for his impeccable work and his dedication to the sport we love.
The evening session yesterday saw the conclusion of the round of 16 at the “Seniors Crucible”.
In the first match of the evening, the “Canary”, Barry Pinches, beat Joe Johnson quite convincingly by 3-1. Barry played really well, and scored well too. If he can keep that form he’s certainly a contender for the title. You will find the scores here. At the time of writing the scores for the last frame are missing. As always Barry was huffing and puffing throughout but he was getting on with the job mercilessly …
Here are the pictures taken during that match:
The last match of the day – and the last of the last 16 round – was eagerly anticipated. The unpredictable Dechawat Poomjaeng was due to face the always very serious Darren Morgan. Nobody knew what to expect … except for the unexpected. When “Poomy” turned up – rather last minute – I was probably the first to meet him in the corridor …
… and he asked me, rather anxiously, if he needed a bowtie … 😄 … I wouldn’t mind one way or the other, I’m just a photographer that was not my decision to take!
Anyway… the guy is crazy (in a nice way) but there was nothing much crazy coming out of his cue once he was at the table! He beat Darren Morgan by 3-1 and it could easily have been 3-0! Here are the scores.
And the images taken during the match…
Considering that yesterday was a week-day, the event was very well attended by the public. Then, of course, Jimmy was playing …
Here is the program for today … in the order of play
Jimmy White v Igor Figueiredo (12h local time)
Dechawat Poomjaeng v Ken Doherty (approximatively 14h)
Stuart Watson v Tony Drago (19h)
Barry Pinches v James Wattana (approximatively 21h)
The action continued today at the Crucible, in front of a good crowd, considering that this is aweek day and and afternoon session.
The first match of the day saw Tony Drago beat Michael Judge by 3-1. The full results are on snookerscores.net. I wasn’t expecting anything from Tony who, in recent years, has suffered some serious health issues but he played really well. He’s certainly been putting the hourd in on the practice table. Nothing at all against Michael Judge but I’m very pleased for Tony. Here are the images taken before and during that match.
The next match saw the defending champion, Jimmy White take on Andrew Norman, a player who had never before played at the Crucible. Andrew, who used to work at the SWSA in Gloucester, took the first two frames. A big upset looked on the cards at that stage. But the match turned on one ball in the next frame, a frame Jimmy took before winning the next two. Andrew, who was watched by his wife and young son Elliott, had no complaints. Despite the defeat he told me that he had enjoyed the experience. You couldn’t meet a nicer man than Andrew. I was gutted for him, more than he was himself.
Here are the images taken before and during that match, a match during which Leo Scullion was really put to hard work!
It all brought back a lot of memories from the SWSA days. Both Andrew and Jimmy were managed by Paul Mount for a while, Andrew worked at the SWSA and Clive Brown, who was marking this match, used to be the TD at the Pink Ribbon… those were the days…
The WPBSA World Seniors Tour 